Posts by david

In early December 2019 we visited Mallacoota, a small remote coastal town midway between Sydney and Melbourne on the entrance shore of an extensive inlet. Surrounded by national park, it is simply magnificent.
It was a brief visit. Soon after, on the last day of the year and along with much of North-east Victoria, Mallacoota burned.
Since September last year, Australia has burned to an extent unprecedented in its recorded history. It is reported that more than ten million...

This is a work of the imagination written for Imagining in Excited Reverie, a 2017 Centenary tribute to Sidney Nolan.
Riverbending takes the form of an imaginary text supposedly written by Nolan himself and not found among his papers after his death in 1992. Whilst obviously a work of fiction as to the words used and some opinions held, it is nevertheless largely based on fact and on Nolan’s own statements.1
After publication, plaudits received from Nolan...

In 1964 Sidney Nolan painted at least 59 large portrait style works, known generically as the Adelaide Ladies. In 2016, friend and fellow Nolan enthusiast Andrew Turley wrote and published A guide to the ladies: 59 works by Sidney Nolan – April 1964 to June 1964 which documents his research into this little known area of Nolan’s oeuvre.
The Foreword, Introduction and Epilogue to Andrew’s book can be read here. This post reproduces the...

In 2016, friend and fellow Nolan enthusiast Andrew Turley wrote and published A guide to the ladies: 59 works by Sidney Nolan – April 1964 to June 1964 which documents his research into the so-called “Adelaide Ladies”, a little known area of Nolan’s oeuvre. Andrew’s comments about these paintings on the recent ABC film documentary Nolan has sparked an interest in them and a call for more information, which this website is pleased to provide.
This posting on...

This is a transcript of a lecture given by David Rainey on 25 July 2018 at the Anglican church of St. Mary-in-the-Valley, Canberra. It includes full references not given in the presentation. Nolan’s own words are frequently quoted and in this transcript are shown in bold. Please NOTE that the text remains as spoken and consequently follows, rather than precedes, the image to which it relates.
Good evening all. Thank you for coming out on such a cold night – especially those of...